Chronicling the calamity of a blazing inferno within the confines of a cardboard metropolitan area, “Fire In Cardboard City” by Phil Brough can make the tear ducts of audiences leak with its compelling storyline and segments of emotional cinematography. The plotline of the film deals with the daunting task of soothing the savage beast that is the plume of fire that is placed upon the unnamed male protagonist. The short film explores the concoctions of a juvenile mind and represents those who are young and those who choose to categorize themselves as young at heart. The limited dialogue and nostalgic cardboard style composition simulates transtemporal travel to the halcyon days of imaginative play. Utilizing anthropomorphic makeshift figurines to narrate a natural disaster in an urban setting, the short film successfully avoids relying heavily on high budget animation or special effects, like Spielberg or Bruckheimer. “Fire In Cardboard City” really embraces the identity that it has as an independent film, almost like it was made by the next door neighbor of a suburban family. There are a few moments in the film in which tissues are recommended to be at most arms length away because there are scenes that can only be described as tear- jerkers. Having a crying session when watching “Fire In Cardboard City” is something that goes back to the days of childhood when crying was a necessary outlet that was reciprocated with empathy, which unlocks the repressed cognitive momentos of something once lost and now found again when viewing this film. Though the tone of the film is not spritely, it still plays on the heartstrings of audiences like a...

A simple story of a high school boy who attends a live band performance isn’t an uncommon conversation, no matter the year you were born. As a short film concept, combined with one of the most creative visual tellings premiered in the Tribeca Film Festival, “The Velvet Underground Played At My High School” is incredibly unique. The director, Anthony Jannelli, is a comprehensive narrator, but the film shines in its dynamic black-and-white style of still-frame animation. The film’s responsibility to show the perspective of the early 1960s climate is respectfully told through its nostalgic style of narration- as if your grandfather tells a story to you by a fireplace at four in the afternoon. The frame-to-frame animation is smoothly transitioned with appropriate special effects. Many animators tend to break this illusion with misfit or obnoxious edits, but Jannelli makes each visual transition feel natural. When “The Velvet Underground” is first premiered on screen, you’re privileged with a complete contrast in animation quality and style that fits the psychedelic and nonsensical overtones of the band’s performance. The narration aligns perfectly other these segments, especially when he describes facial features and the band’s unusual use of their instruments. These segments are unbelievably detailed to the point you’ll question whether or not there’s a filter over an old videotape. The surreal impact the performance had on the narrator offers the audience the same sense of nostalgia; the film makes us think of our own bizarre memories while it effectively establishes its own positive perspective on taboo music. “The Velvet Underground Played At My High School” shows the director’s competence in presentation. The long, yet simple name welcomes the viewer to a story you can sit down and listen to, to gain further perspective on the revolutionary music of the 1960s. The band segments alone are enough to sell the film’s tone, but the overall production shows Jannelli’s proficiency in...

Chronicling the calamity of a blazing inferno within the confines of a cardboard metropolitan area, “Fire In Cardboard City” by Phil Brough can make the tear ducts of audiences leak with its compelling storyline and segments of emotional cinematography. The plotline of the film deals with the daunting task of soothing the savage beast that is the plume of fire that is placed upon the unnamed male protagonist. The short film explores...

A simple story of a high school boy who attends a live band performance isn’t an uncommon conversation, no matter the year you were born. As a short film concept, combined with one of the most creative visual tellings premiered in the Tribeca Film Festival, “The Velvet Underground Played At My High School” is incredibly unique. The director, Anthony Jannelli, is a comprehensive narrator, but the film shines in its dynamic...